"Precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little." Isaiah 28:10
"Precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little and there a little." Isaiah 28:10
Two testimonies came into the fruit basket from a member of the Association, which are in fact one story woven together. They show how our lives are not compartmentalized, but that the prayer and inspiration called forth in one area blesses all areas of our lives.
The first testimony concerned employment. Government cutbacks affecting local authorities touch countless people, and in this case there was a sudden threat of redundancy. The writer and her team met this with calmness, and were then able to comfort and encourage each other as they looked forward. They were able to regroup in a remarkable way, and during the autumn and winter they enjoyed buoyancy, laughter, and harmony.
However, the underlying uncertainties brought to the surface doubts and fears and sometimes a feeling of resentment. But every time these thoughts tried to muscle in our friend would say, “Shut up, Myrtle!” In the Sunday School where she taught another teacher had talked about “mortal mind” to the children, and one of them thought she meant a lady called “Myrtle”! So they use the term “Myrtle” a lot now in their church when dealing with the stuff of mortal mind!
At the end of this period our friend was offered a substantial promotion! But it was short lived because of other changes that needed to be made, and this time she learned that she was to be made redundant. But all that mental and spiritual work over the months was yielding fruit. She was calmer than ever, even excited about a whole new future working in a completely different way. This is still “work in progress” -- but meanwhile another blessing began to appear in an area of her life which had seemed doggedly resistant to all her prayers......and that was a 20-year problem with alcohol abuse.
As she turned into the New Year, a happy and sustained freedom took the place of the compulsion which had latterly been spiralling right out of control. It was the first “dry” period in four years to last more than a week or two. This time it happened quietly and naturally, with no sense of mortal will-power or effort. In her own words:
“What is astonishing is that during the 20 years I have been working to win my God-given freedom I have experienced no physical damage as a result of what is a very dangerous thing to do, humanly. Some medical experts would say that being untouched by the long-term excesses of drinking is surely impossible. To me it is awesome.
“And what is really precious to me, and awe-inspiring, is the gradual realisation the the unrelenting compulsion that had been steadily worsening has gone. Totally. When I learned I was to be made redundant, the “old me” would have gone out and drowned my sorrows. But I didn’t. And – awesome experience – I realised that I DID NOT WANT TO. Instead I went home quietly and caught up with some tasks that needed doing.
“Here was proof that the spiritual work about our employment situation had also quietly been addressing the long-term problem. I realised that although my striving was truly earnest, all my previous efforts had too much emphasis on will-power. Instead of starting from the highest standpoint, as we are taught to do in class, I kept tumbling down to “the problem” and thinking “I have to do something.” No wonder I was getting nowhere!
“When the thought came to try again, I refused to listen to the suggestion that it was no good and I would never be free. At this time it was New Year. Included in the Lesson was this verse from Psalm 40: “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.” My eyes went on to the next verse (not in the Lesson) which fairly shouted at me: “And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God.”
“I saw that I needed to stop saying “I’ll never be free of this.” Instead I needed to sing a new gong -- literally sing with renewed hope and expectation. I needed to praise God, always. In our Sunday School sessions the children and I have talked about the dozens of times Jesus gave thanks before a healing. And the Old Testament is peppered with “give thanks, give praise, and rejoice.” This was my new song. This was my renewal.
“As hope soared, sunlight suddenly poured through the window onto my books, banishing “the cloudy and dark day.” There were other wonderful citations in that Lesson, such as: “The might of omnipotent Spirit shares not its strength with matter or with human will.” And, “Know thyself, and God will supply the wisdom and the occasion for a victory over evil.” The occasion had come - it was NOW! And it’s always now. Not going to be, or nearly here, but now - always.”